Though opponents of the Massachusetts proposal warn of tax flight, this phenomenon has not occurred elsewhere. As Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, observed: “We just have not seen… the kind of mass migration of millionaires that people keep predicting.”

Massachusetts spends about $1 billion of taxpayer money every year on an array of special tax breaks and incentives for businesses, says Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a nonpartisan policy research organization. Most of those deals, he says, “have been in place for a long time, and there’s no evidence that they work. Is this the best way we could spend $1 billion, or is it better spent on education infrastructure, improving communities outside the Boston area, or transportation?” On that last topic, Berger adds, “There’s no reason we shouldn’t have a world-class public transportation system and well-maintained roads.”

After adjusting for inflation, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center reported that wages climbed 5.8 percent in the past year, second only to the 6.3 percent growth in Idaho. "It's good news that incomes are up and poverty is down. But too many families in our state are still struggling," the group said in its analysis. "The state median wage remains below where it was in 2009, and more than one in eight children in our state live in poverty. The progress our state has made should encourage us to continue to work to expand opportunity and to help working families to become more economically secure."

On Thursday afternoon, for instance, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center reported that last year's 'surge' in income growth means the state's median household income is just now above the pre-recession peak of 2008.

After adjusting for inflation, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center reported that medium income climbed 5.8 percent in the past year, second only to the 6.3 percent growth in Idaho. "It's good news that incomes are up and poverty is down. But too many families in our state are still struggling," the group said in its analysis. "The state median wage remains below where it was in 2009, and more than one in eight children in our state live in poverty. The progress our state has made should encourage us to continue to work to expand opportunity and to help working families to become more economically secure."

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a left-leaning research group, said raising taxes on the wealthy is the best opportunity the state has to raise the money needed to improve schools and transportation. "It does it in a way that improves the overall fairness of our tax system," said Berger.

You may have read half of all workers in Massachusetts held a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2016, marking this the first time any U.S. state has reached that educational threshold, according to a report released last week by the independent Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. The same analysis points to a growing wage gap in the state. College-educated workers earn on average nearly double the wages of those in the labor force with only a high school education.

MassBudget President Noah Berger appeared on NECN's nightly business show to discuss the importance of Massachusetts' educated workforce, the increasing ranks of its labor force, and the lack of wage gains for most Massachusetts workers.

The labor force in Massachusetts this year has grown faster than in any state in the nation and employers here have added nearly 300,000 jobs since the start of the Great Recession in 2007, but wages haven’t followed suit, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center's Labor Day report.

The nonprofit Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center released a report in 2015 that projected it would cost $127.2 million in additional net annual funding to eliminate tuition and mandatory fees for all in-state students currently enrolled at community colleges. ...“I think right now in the current budget context it would be very difficult, but in the next year there will be debate on a proposal to add money for transportation and education,” [Noah] Berger said. “I think it’s hard to see how the state could make significant new investments in higher education without a new revenue source.”

Massachusetts has largely recovered the jobs it lost during the Great Recession, according to a report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a research group in Boston. But for most workers, that economic growth hasn’t translated into increased wages — with the notable exception of the top 1 percent of earners, whose incomes have grown faster in Massachusetts in recent decades than in any other state in the nation.

The labor force in Massachusetts this year has grown faster than in any state in the nation and employers here have added nearly 300,000 jobs since the start of the Great Recession in 2007, but wage stagnation means the favorable trends have not translated into significantly more income for most workers and families, according to a new report. Median household income in Massachusetts has grown only half a percentage point each year, after adjusting for inflation, since 1979, but has risen about 4.3 percent a year for the 1 percent of households with the highest incomes, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center's Labor Day report.

The Massachusetts labor force is the fastest growing in the country, according to a study released Monday by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. The labor force has grown 3.2 percent so far in 2017, according to the study, the largest growth rate among all the states. Nationally, the labor force has grown by 0.5 percent so far this year.

The labor force in Massachusetts this year has grown faster than in any state in the nation and employers here have added nearly 300,000 jobs since the start of the Great Recession in 2007, but wage stagnation means the favorable trends have not translated into significantly more income for most workers and families, according to a new report.

The labor pool in Massachusetts is growing faster this year than in any other state in the country. But at the same time, the incomes of the state's top one percent of earners is growing the fastest nationwide, while median-income growth is unchanged. Those are the conclusions of a new report issued by the nonpartisan Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. MassBudget President Noah Berger joined Morning Edition to review the report's findings.

“This growing inequality is part of what is known as the ‘Great Decoupling’ — the period, beginning in the 1970s, when growth in wages and income for most workers began to flatten even while productivity continued to increase,” the State of Working Massachusetts report said.

The share of graduates from public, four-year colleges in Massachusetts who have student loans increased from 54 percent in 2001 to 75 percent in 2014, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. The average student debt in the state, the center adds, has also grown 55 percent since 2001, from $18,782 to $29,038. The debt load climbed even as the state has cut higher education spending by 15.3 percent since 2001 in inflation-adjusted dollars, according to the budget center reports.

In his recent paper “Education and State Economic Strength: A Snapshot of Current Data,” Jeremy Thompson, senior policy analyst at the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, writes, “The emergence of a knowledge-based economy over the past several decades has led to a widening gap between workers with bachelor’s degrees and those without.”

Last week, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center released a report showing that the median wage for a Massachusetts worker with a bachelor's degree was 99 percent higher in 2016 than the median wage of a high school graduate, up from 49 percent in 1979. The report said public higher education enrollment has gone up while total state funding has declined, leading to a 31 percent drop in per-student spending since 2001, as adjusted for inflation. MassBudget suggested increased state support for community colleges, public four-year colleges and the UMass system could make it easier for more Bay State workers to earn degrees.

Massachusetts residents have good reason to strut in the wake of news that the Bay State's workforce is the first-ever in the nation to contain a majority of bachelor's degree holders. The report from the non-profit Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, however, also reveals that underlying the good news are other statistics that it would be well for the state to heed and address.

In Massachusetts, 50.2 percent of individuals participating in the state's labor force had attained at minimum a four-year degree from a college or university in 2016. The next highest states were New Jersey (45.2 percent), New York (43.7 percent), Maryland (43 percent) and Connecticut (42.7 percent), according to the CPS data. The U.S. average was 35.5 percent in 2016.

Half of the workers who comprise the Massachusetts workforce hold at least a bachelor's degree, the first time any state has surpassed the 50 percent threshold, and the wage gap between workers with degrees and those without continues to widen, according to a new report from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

Half of all workers in Massachusetts held a bachelor's degree or higher in 2016, marking the first time any U.S. state has reached that educational threshold, according to a report released Wednesday by the independent Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. The same analysis points to a growing wage chasm in the state, with the college-educated earning on average 99 percent — or nearly double — the wages of those in the labor force with only a high school education.

Due for release Wednesday, the MassBudget report found that the median wage in 1979 for a Massachusetts worker with a bachelor’s degree was 49 percent higher than the median wage of a worker who did not attend college. As of 2016, the “college wage premium” had increased to 99 percent, according to the report. Nationally, the premium was 84 percent in 2015, MassBudget said. The nonprofit think tank said the median hourly wage for a Massachusetts worker with a high school diploma is $15.12, citing data from the Economic Policy Institute, while the median hourly wage for a worker with a bachelor’s degree or higher is $30.11.

In Massachusetts, a mecca of higher education, half of the workforce has a bachelor’s degree, making the state both the first to reach the 50 percent threshold and the most educated in the nation, according to a new report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

The study by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center shows that wages for those with college degrees has grown much faster that pay for those with only a high school degree or who never finished an undergraduate degree.

The findings were consistent with previous data consistently showing Massachusetts to be among the most educated states in the nation, with an economy heavily reliant on the presence of a highly-skilled workforce. But the authors noted a downside as well, as workers without a college education continue to fall further behind in wages while the expense of attaining those badly-needed degrees gets steeper for those with limited financial resources.

Half of all workers in Massachusetts held a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2016, marking the first time any U.S. state has reached that threshold, according to a report being released Wednesday by the independent Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

The same analysis by the independent Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center shows that college-educated workers on average earn 99 percent - or nearly double - the wages of those in the labor force with only a high school education.

In Massachusetts, 50.2 percent of individuals participating in the state's labor force had attained bachelor's degrees or higher in 2016. The next highest states were New Jersey (45.2 percent), New York (43.7 percent), Maryland (43 percent) and Connecticut (42.7 percent), according to the CPS data. The U.S. average was 35.5 percent in 2016.

The report is a glass overflowing/ glass losing water offering. Massachusetts' thought-driven economy is requiring a more educated workforce and businesses seem willing to pay for it. The average college-educated worker earns $30.11 per hour compared to $15.12 for those without a higher education background. The study says there's a premium regardless of how much time one spends in the hallowed halls, whether it's a year or two, earning an Associate's Degree, or getting the full four-year sheepskin. ...But that educated workforce has come with some costs, the biggest of which is the expanding income inequality chasm. It also has triggered more student debt as the increase in student loans with the rising cost of tuition combined with stagnant government aid to both students and schools has left graduates unable to move out of their parents' homes or contribute to the economy the way their parents did.

The growing cost of college is holding people back, according to the report, and only increasing that wage divide as earnings stay stagnant for those without a four-year degree. “Expanding access to higher education can benefit both individual students and the overall state economy, as workers with a college degree earn more than those without,” the report reads. “But the cost of attending college has been increasing steadily, and more students are taking on ever-increasing debt to pay those costs.”

"While it may seem obvious in 2017 that higher levels of college education would be associated with higher earnings at the state level, this relationship is actually a fairly recent feature of the U.S. economy," MassBudget wrote in its report. "In 1979, the correlation between educational attainment of a state's workforce and its median hourly wage was weak." That relatively new trend is especially evident in Massachusetts, MassBudget said, since the state saw a greater increase in the share of its labor force with at least a bachelor's degree than any other state since 1979. In 1979, 20 percent of the Massachusetts workforce had a bachelor's degree or higher and in 2016 that share had grown to 50.2 percent, MassBudget said.

Half of all workers in Massachusetts held a bachelor's degree or higher in 2016, marking the first time any U.S. state has reached that educational threshold, according to a report released Wednesday by the independent Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

The nonprofit Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center released a report in 2015 that projected it would cost $127.2 million in additional net annual funding to eliminate tuition and mandatory fees for all in-state students currently enrolled at community colleges. That figure is in addition to the $192 million in existing grants, aid and public sources of student support already in place.

Noah Berger, executive director of the Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center, admits that under the current cycle of tight state budgets, it would be unlikely for a free community college proposal to gain serious traction. That could change, however, depending on the fate of a proposed state constitutional amendment that would charge a 4 percent surtax on incomes in excess of $1 million, earmarking the additional revenue for transportation and education. “I think right now in the current budget context it would be very difficult, but in the next year there will be debate on a proposal to add money for transportation and education,” Berger said. “I think it’s hard to see how the state could make significant new investments in higher education without a new revenue source.”

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said the retailers should explain to voters how they would make up for the lost revenue or cut the state budget if voters lower the tax. "This proposal is simply to provide a tax cut with no clarity as to where the money would come from," said Berger.

Minimum wage increases have been found to correlate with significant gains to low-income earnings, as the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) reported on September 5, and 19 states increased their minimum wages at the beginning of the year:

The Pelham Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization.... argued the state has "not fully funded charter school reimbursements for sending districts." The letter cited numbers from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center showing that reimbursements were underfunded by $35.3 million in fiscal 2015 and $47.1 million in 2016.

Noah Berger, the president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said the budget, without changes to the tax code that could generate more revenue for state government, ultimately fails to move the needle in areas like education and transportation. “I think this ultimately is a budget much more about we’re not able to do, what we can’t do, than a budget about, perhaps, what we could do as a commonwealth,” Berger said. “The budget doesn’t protect higher ed students from tuition and fee increases, doesn’t make the kinds of investments in education that would really expand opportunity and doesn’t make the kind of investments in our transportation system that cold really fix our subways and buses and roads and bridges.”

Revenue gaps forced lawmakers to abandon major initiatives they'd proposed in earlier versions of the budget, said Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. "This budget won't protect (University of Massachusetts) students from tuition and fee increases, it doesn't make the kinds of major investments in education that could significantly expand opportunity, and it doesn't provide the funding it would take to fix our transportation systems," Berger said in a statement.

“The budget signed by the Governor today - and the vetoes he made - are again much more about what we as a Commonwealth can’t do or won’t do than what we could do,” Noah Berger, president of the left-leaning MassBudget, said in a statement. “This budget won’t protect UMass students from tuition and fee increases, it doesn’t make the kinds of major investments in education that could significantly expand opportunity, and it doesn’t provide the funding it would take to fix our transportation systems. Meeting those challenges would require correcting fundamental flaws in our tax system, such as that our highest income residents currently pay the smallest share of their income in state and local taxes.”

According to a December 2016 report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, the Commonwealth has cut higher education spending by 14 percent since the 2001 fiscal year, which translated into a 31 percent cut in spending per student. To no one’s surprise, tuition and fees rose as a result and many families turned to student loans to fill the gap.

Lawmakers, however, have since 2012 failed to appropriate full funding for charter reimbursements, which were underfunded by $35.3 million in fiscal 2015 and $47.1 million in fiscal 2016, according to the nonprofit Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Because of the dip in appropriations, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has been funding the first year of net tuition increase but not the remaining years, Pelham School Committee Chairwoman Cara Castenson said.

States with more college-educated workers have stronger, higher-wage economies, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. But for many low-income residents, this opportunity to access higher-wage jobs and move out of poverty remains out of reach.

“The projected revenue shortfalls forced the Legislature to abandon some of the modest investments their earlier budgets had sought and led to even greater reliance on temporary measures to balance accounts,” Noah Berger, president of the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, stated. “Unfortunately, this budget does not even begin to make the kind of major long-term investments that would improve our economy and quality of life by expanding educational opportunity for all of our young people and enhancing our failing infrastructure. Doing that would require fixing flaws in our tax system that allow the highest-income residents of the state to pay the smallest share of their income in state and local taxes.”

Sen. Michael O. Moore, [said] it could be a nine-figure proposition to carry out his Senate Bill 2088, a refiling of his original 2015 legislation that would make the state responsible for paying the tuition and fees of Massachusetts students attending its community colleges. Specifically, a report on the topic published by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center two years ago estimated the state would take on around $127 million per year to make community college free to in-state students.

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said the revenue shortfall forced lawmakers to abandon some initiatives they had proposed in earlier versions of the spending plan. “Unfortunately, this budget does not even begin to make the kind of major long-term investments that would improve our economy and quality of life by expanding educational opportunity for all of our young people and enhancing our failing infrastructure,” Berger said in a statement.

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said the revenue shortfall forced lawmakers to abandon some initiatives they had proposed in earlier versions of the spending plan. "Unfortunately, this budget does not even begin to make the kind of major long-term investments that would improve our economy and quality of life by expanding educational opportunity for all of our young people and enhancing our failing infrastructure," Berger said in a statement.

A Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center analysis found state tax rates have "only a minimal impact on interstate migration," and millionaires are often "less mobile" than households in lower income groups. The analysis projects the millionaire population in Massachusetts would drop by 0.6 percent if the question passed, for a loss of $16 million in direct annual income tax revenue and a net gain of $1.88 billion from the new surtax.

"The projected revenue shortfalls forced the Legislature to abandon some of the modest investments their earlier budgets had sought and led to even greater reliance on temporary measures to balance accounts," Noah Berger, president of the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, this budget does not even begin to make the kind of major long-term investments that would improve our economy and quality of life by expanding educational opportunity for all of our young people and enhancing our failing infrastructure. Doing that would require fixing flaws in our tax system that allow the highest income residents of the state to pay the smallest share of their income in state and local taxes."

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said the revenue shortfall forced lawmakers to abandon some initiatives they had proposed in earlier versions of the spending plan. "Unfortunately, this budget does not even begin to make the kind of major long-term investments that would improve our economy and quality of life by expanding educational opportunity for all of our young people and enhancing our failing infrastructure," Berger said in a statement.

"The projected revenue shortfalls forced the Legislature to abandon some of the modest investments their earlier budgets had sought and led to even greater reliance on temporary measures to balance accounts," Noah Berger, president of the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, this budget does not even begin to make the kind of major long-term investments that would improve our economy and quality of life by expanding educational opportunity for all of our young people and enhancing our failing infrastructure. Doing that would require fixing flaws in our tax system that allow the highest income residents of the state to pay the smallest share of their income in state and local taxes."

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said the revenue shortfall forced lawmakers to abandon some initiatives they had proposed in earlier versions of the spending plan.
"Unfortunately, this budget does not even begin to make the kind of major long-term investments that would improve our economy and quality of life by expanding educational opportunity for all of our young people and enhancing our failing infrastructure," Berger said in a statement.

"The projected revenue shortfalls forced the Legislature to abandon some of the modest investments their earlier budgets had sought and led to even greater reliance on temporary measures to balance accounts," Noah Berger, president of the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, this budget does not even begin to make the kind of major long-term investments that would improve our economy and quality of life by expanding educational opportunity for all of our young people and enhancing our failing infrastructure. Doing that would require fixing flaws in our tax system that allow the highest income residents of the state to pay the smallest share of their income in state and local taxes."

"The projected revenue shortfalls forced the Legislature to abandon some of the modest investments their earlier budgets had sought and led to even greater reliance on temporary measures to balance accounts," Noah Berger, president of the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, this budget does not even begin to make the kind of major long-term investments that would improve our economy and quality of life by expanding educational opportunity for all of our young people and enhancing our failing infrastructure. Doing that would require fixing flaws in our tax system that allow the highest income residents of the state to pay the smallest share of their income in state and local taxes."

"The projected revenue shortfalls forced the Legislature to abandon some of the modest investments their earlier budgets had sought and led to even greater reliance on temporary measures to balance accounts," Noah Berger, president of the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, this budget does not even begin to make the kind of major long-term investments that would improve our economy and quality of life by expanding educational opportunity for all of our young people and enhancing our failing infrastructure. Doing that would require fixing flaws in our tax system that allow the highest income residents of the state to pay the smallest share of their income in state and local taxes."

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said the revenue shortfall forced lawmakers to abandon some initiatives they had proposed in earlier versions of the spending plan. "Unfortunately, this budget does not even begin to make the kind of major long-term investments that would improve our economy and quality of life by expanding educational opportunity for all of our young people and enhancing our failing infrastructure," Berger said in a statement.

A Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center analysis found state tax rates have "only a minimal impact on interstate migration," and millionaires are often "less mobile" than households in lower income groups. The analysis projects the millionaire population in Massachusetts would drop by 0.6 percent if the question passed, for a loss of $16 million in direct annual income tax revenue and a net gain of $1.88 billion from the new surtax.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said the president's budget would also shift the cost of $100 billion in supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits to states and eliminate the low-income home energy assistance program. More than 767,000 low-income resident sin Massachusetts use SNAP benefits to help pay for food, and 164,000 rely on LIHEAP to pay for winter home heating expenses.

"There is no reason to believe that the tax credits the state reportedly gave to the producers of this film were the most effective way to promote jobs and economic development," said Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center that's long called for scrapping the program.

"There is no reason to believe that the tax credits the state reportedly gave to the producers of this film were the most effective way to promote jobs and economic development," said Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center that's long called for scrapping the program.

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, disagrees.
"There are a lot of states that have tax rates of 9 percent or higher on high-income folks, and we just have not seen in those states the kind of mass migration of millionaires that people keep predicting," he said. "It just doesn't happen."

Proposed federal budget cuts, if enacted, would make things more difficult for children and families, according to Mass Budget. Repealing the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion would put more than $1.1 billion at risk in Massachusetts by 2021. That, plus a proposal to turn Medicaid from an entitlement to a per-capita allotment, could cut 45 percent of federal funds for health insurance by 2026.

“It’s important for Massachusetts and all states to create structurally balanced budgets that will allow them to build up reserves,” said Noah Berger, executive director of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “There’s a number of other ways to do it.” Berger said one way the state could boost reserves is by rolling back some tax breaks, such as the film tax credit that doles out more than $80 million a year to Hollywood production studios.

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center President Noah Berger says it is little surprise that the Bay State comes out tops for education. "The good news is, this data shows the investments Massachusetts has made in our public schools are paying off," Berger says. "We have the best public schools in America. The danger is that with federal cuts looming, we may reduce the state's ability to provide high-quality education for all of our kids."

Citing research from Stanford University and U.S. Treasury economists, the policy center wrote that millionaires are more likely to be married, have children and own a business, all of which correlate to staying put. According to the policy center, 2.4 percent of millionaires - or about 12,000 households - move to a different state each year while among the overall population that rate is 2.9 percent.

“What does matter for building our economy is making sure we have a well-educated workforce and transportation infrastructure that works, and we do that by investing,” said Noah Berger, president of the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

Noah Berger, president of the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, sided with Raise Up Massachusetts and said studies have shown that when other states like New York raised taxes on the wealthy it did not result in a mass exodus. "The states that have strong high-wage economies are the states that have a well-educated workforce and if you can make investments to build that kind of workforce that, in the long run, is important for your economic strength," said Berger.
Berger said the proposed amendment would make the Massachusetts tax system fairer. "Our highest income taxpayers actually pay the smallest percent of their income in state and local taxes," said Berger.

Investment in vocational training curriculum for high schools is one way to regenerate the construction workforce, ... Still, such programs are often underfunded, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. In that state alone, 3,200 students are on high schools' Career/Vocational Technical Education wait-lists, per a November 2016 report from the center.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center put out a paper last spring saying economic studies have found the wealthy make their decisions on where to live based on social, culture, family and weather, with taxes being a minor issue.

After several months of disappointing tax returns, Massachusetts is ending its fiscal year on an upswing. State revenue figures released Monday show the state took in $30 million more than anticipated last month — about 1.6 percent more than projected. Still, with just a month left in the fiscal year, overall revenue collections are 1.9 percent lower than projected. Noah Berger, of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, joined Morning Edition to discuss.

Had the state EITC match been set at 50 percent of the federal credit in 2016, the maximum state credit available to a family with three or more children would have been $3,135 instead of $1,442, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. For a family with two children, the maximum state credit would have been $2,786 rather than $1,282, MassBudget said.

“The revenue picture is still challenging, but the May numbers are not what I would call bad news,” said Noah Berger, who has closely followed the state budget for years and is president of the liberal-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “It seems increasingly clear the core of the problem is related to 2016 taxes — and the forward-looking indicators are more positive.” Berger said a significant portion of the state’s fiscal hole does not appear to be the result of a souring economy, but rather the long-term fiscal challenges that persist despite the economic recovery.

According to one study by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, cited by this page before, the film program generated about 430 jobs each year for Massachusetts residents. Those jobs paid an average of $70,000 — for which the state paid $119,000. As for new revenue, each taxpayer dollar given up generates only about 14 cents.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said the president's budget would also shift the cost of $100 billion in supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits to states and eliminate the low-income home energy assistance program.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said the president's budget would also shift the cost of $100 billion in supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits to states and eliminate the low-income home energy assistance program. More than 767,000 low-income resident sin Massachusetts use SNAP benefits to help pay for food, and 164,000 rely on LIHEAP to pay for winter home heating expenses.

An April 27 report released by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a nonprofit think tank, debunked claims of millionaires moving because of tax surcharges. “Extensive empirical evidence and numerous sophisticated statistical studies clearly show that only a small share of high-income households move in response to higher tax rates. As a result, ‘millionaires taxes’ predictably deliver the overwhelming majority—some 99 percent—of their expected net, new revenue,” the report said.

“By endorsing an employer assessment to offset these costs, the budget reduces the long-term cost shift from employers to the state,” Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said Tuesday. “This reduces pressure to make painful budget cuts.”

"By endorsing an employer assessment to offset these costs, the budget reduces the long-term cost shift from employers to the state," Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said Tuesday. "This reduces pressure to make painful budget cuts."

Massachusetts has cut its public higher education funding by an inflation-adjusted 14 percent since 2001 as both tuition and fees and student debt have increased, according to a report released late last year by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. According to the report, state funding per student is down $3,000 since the 2001 fiscal year, while per-student tuition and fees are up by $4,000. Meanwhile, both the portion of graduates of Massachusetts public four-year colleges with student loans and their average amount of debt has increased, the report said.

Noah Berger, executive director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said that while the proposed budget doesn’t address calls for major reforms to the education funding system, the increased Chapter 70 funds will be welcome

Massachusetts taxes are not bringing in as much money as hoped, and now the state is staring down a nearly half-billion-dollar budget shortfall. To better understand what to make of the shortfall and what caused it, Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, an independent research group, joins WBUR.

By one estimate, 99.4 percent of Massachusetts millionaires would continue to reside in the Bay State and pay the higher amount. ... In Massachusetts, the top 1 percent (income over $860,000 per year) has seen large gains over this period. These highest earners pay the smallest share of their income in state and local taxes, 6.5 percent of household income, compared to the 9.4 percent paid by the average Massachusetts household.

The left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, meanwhile, estimates the state spends more than $1 billion annually on special business tax breaks; that number includes some broader tax policies, and not just company-specific tax credits. (But it doesn’t include grants, such as the $125 millionfor GE’s headquarters project.)

“The April revenue numbers are troubling,” said Noah Berger, who has followed the state budget for years and is president of the liberal-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “It is unclear, however, if they indicate a trend or a temporary problem,” he continued. “The income tax withholding numbers, which reflect current income, are pretty good. Revenue from 2016 tax returns, which reflects income last year, is down significantly.”

King cites research by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center that indicates an increase of the minimum wage to $15 an hour would benefit nearly a million workers in the state. In Worcester, according to the MBPC, 40 percent of the workforce would be impacted by the increase.

In “Race to Equity: The State of Black Massachusetts,” the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center noted that homeownership has been the primary way of building wealth for most people, but that this avenue of wealth generation has been closed off or made less available to communities of color.

...[T]he state has not completely funded the charter reimbursement in years, and a recent analysis of the House budget published by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center shows districts could see an even lower reimbursement percentage next year than the approximately 60 percent rate they’re getting so far this fiscal year. ...Noah Berger, president of Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, pointed out the House budget sets aside an additional $12 million in reserve Chapter 70 funds that could come into play later.

Noah Berger, president of the independent Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said there are no simple solutions. He said taxing services may sound like one option, but one of the largest providers of services is the health care sector, and there would likely be little political appetite for taxing health services. ..."In the late 1990s, the state cut the state income tax by about $3 billion and we've had problems since then," Berger said.

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said charging employers an assessment for not fully covering their workers "would provide the state with revenue to offset the cost of providing insurance when employers don't. That makes it possible to balance the budget without relying on painful program cuts."

Many of the schools have solid academic offerings and boast state-of-the-art facilities for vocational programs, supported by a state funding formula that sends voc-tech schools about $5,000 more per pupil than district high schools. While some vocational schools have unfilled seats, many of those serving the state’s Gateway Cities—former industrial centers such as New Bedford, Worcester, and Fitchburg—are now oversubscribed. According to a report issued last year by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 3,200 students were on waiting lists at Massachusetts vocational schools for the 2015-16 school year. Gateway Cities account for roughly one-quarter of all public school students statewide, but they were home to 53 percent of those unable to land a spot at a vocational school.

Noah Berger, executive director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said that while the proposed budget doesn’t address calls for major reforms to the education funding system, the increased Chapter 70 funds will be welcome. “There’s a modest increase over the governor’s proposal in Chapter 70, which would be helpful to local school districts,” Berger said. “There’s also an increase in funding for early education, particularly to improve the quality of early education and the salaries of those providers, which is positive as well.”

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center President Noah Berger said the House budget is not overly optimistic, but he did not rule out mid-year problems under the plan as proposed. “I think the budget itself and 3.8 percent growth has a reasonably good chance of being sustainable, but the fact that there are some underfunded accounts within that is a little bit troubling,” Berger said.

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center President Noah Berger said the House budget is not overly optimistic, but he did not rule out mid-year problems under the plan as proposed. "I think the budget itself and 3.8 percent growth has a reasonably good chance of being sustainable, but the fact that there are some underfunded accounts within that is a little bit troubling," Berger said. Dempsey acknowledged that the House put less funding than Baker into some accounts, such as sheriffs and indigent counsel services, that historically require passage of midyear spending bills to meet demand.

Noah Berger, of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, says the uses of the sales tax and the proposed millionaire's tax are different, making it hard to link the two ballot questions. The millionaire's tax revenue is intended for education and transportation, meaning spending would have to be reduced in other areas to offset any cut to the sales tax. "Simply cutting the sales tax and paying for that tax cut with over a billion dollars in budget cuts would be very problematic as it could lead to deep cuts in local aid, access to health care and other services people rely on,"

The Trump Administration released their budget proposal last night. It calls for a sharp increase in military spending while making deep cuts across much of the rest of government. This could have significant ramifications for Massachusetts, which might see some of the biggest losses, and gains, under the president's spending plan.

“The new rule normally would mean a reduction in the amount contributed to the Rainy Day Fund relative to the amount that would be contributed under the current rule. But in recent years the ‘required’ contribution — as defined under current rules — hasn’t actually been made,” MassBudget wrote in its analysis of Baker’s fiscal 2018 budget plan. “So, if the new rule were actually followed (in contrast to the current rule, which frequently has not been), it could result in progress in building up the Rainy Day Fund.”

“There are real dangers of large, regressive tax cuts that would be paid for by cutting early education,” said Noah Berger, executive director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Berger said federal and state funding for early childhood education programs has declined more than 20 percent in recent years. “Early education doesn’t just benefit kids, it benefits the parents as well,” he said. “Kids get a high-quality education that prepares them for school, and parents are able to go to work.”

Noah Berger, executive director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, however, said the current flat tax system favors the wealthy. "The way our tax system works now, the highest 1 percent pays a smaller share of income on state and local taxes than everyone else," he said. "I think this proposal helps to address that so our highest income earners begin to start paying closer to the same share of taxes as people with lower incomes pay."

"The centerpiece of this budget is a smart, common-sense proposal to address the problem of costs for employee health care being shifted from employers onto state government," said Noah Berger, executive director of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. "Fixing that problem should create a more sustainably balanced budget and reduce the pressure for budget cuts that could harm people and communities across the commonwealth. On other issues, it is more of a status quo budget; it doesn't make significant new investments to expand access to early education, or make higher education more affordable, or fix our transportation systems."

Advocates for higher education point to research by the liberal-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center showing that the state has cut funding for higher education by $200 million since 2001 -- a year that saw the highest amount of funding in the last 15 years, although the exact amount has ebbed and flowed with the economy.

A report this month by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says this fiscal year one in four dollars in the state budget comes from federal sources, meaning that cuts engineered by politicians in Washington could mean less money for programs and services — from health care subsidies to payments for foster care and nutrition subsidies for women, infants and children "Massachusetts is every bit as much at risk as every other state," said Noah Berger, president of the nonprofit Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says Massachusetts is at risk of losing billions in federal funding — the vast majority of that going to Medicaid — if the Trump administration decides to change several federal programs. 'We see our role as making sure people know the facts,” said Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “This is going to be an important national debate. Massachusetts has a lot of leaders and organized citizens that can play an active role in that debate, and (we want to) make sure people in Massachusetts and around the country understand what’s at stake ... A lot of our core services that protect kids…are potentially at risk.'

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and a critic of corporate tax breaks, said giving the council more discretion “could be problematic,” depending on how the council wields the power and how the regulations stemming from the economic development law are implemented. Those regulations are currently under development and will be subject to public comment. “There’s a question whether programs that give businesses special tax breaks are ever a good use of public money,” Berger said. “If companies are going to get these special tax breaks, they should deliver the jobs they have promised. If not, they shouldn’t get the tax break.”

"Today, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center released a report highlighting the major federal funding sources received by the state to provide access to affordable health care, help children thrive, assist low-income families, and care for veterans. ...The MassBudget report drives home the point that all states, including Massachusetts, depend on a partnership with the federal government to share in the cost of providing health care to needy children, people living with disabilities, seniors, veterans, and low income and working families. If the ACA is repealed, if CHIP is not funded, or if Medicaid is gutted, Massachusetts will face significant budget challenges and difficult choices that could have devastating impacts on the ability of low-income individuals and families, children, seniors and people with disabilities to access health care services."

A new report is detailing how much Massachusetts relies on federal dollars. The liberal-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center estimates one in every four dollars in the state budget comes from federal funds — nearly $11 billion. The money helps support more than 30 state agencies and departments.

MassBudget President Noah Berger said the report’s goal is to highlight those programs that could face cutbacks under some of the actions being discussed by the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress.

'There's a very important partnership between the federal and state government that allows the state to do much of what we accomplish in state government,' said Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. 'In different ways, most of it is potentially at risk.'

'Partnership in Peril: Federal Funding at Risk for State Programs Relied on by Massachusetts Residents,' by Nancy Wagman, Kids Count Director/MassBudget: 'This fiscal year, one of every four dollars that supports the state’s budget comes from the federal government -- close to $11 billion in federal funds.'

In 'Partnership in Peril: Federal Funding at Risk for State Programs Relied on by Massachusetts Residents,' the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said as much as $1.8 billion is riding on the outcome of repeal-and-replace deliberations concerning the federal Affordable Care Act. While acknowledging it's hard to predict, the report speculates that a shift to a block grant format to fund Medicaid could reduce annual funding by 25 percent or more within ten years.

A report released Thursday by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said a repeal could jeopardize up to $1.82 billion in annual Medicaid funding that the state receives and reduce federal funding by 25 percent or more within a decade. About one-quarter of the $40.5 billion state budget comes from federal funding, according to the report.

A new Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center report shows that more than 3,000 students were on waiting lists for vocational technical schools in Massachusetts last year. Meanwhile, employers reported they have trouble filling jobs that require technical skills, and anticipate an even greater demand for the qualifications that graduates of secondary vocational schools provide. The report reminds us that the less education one has, the more likely the person will fall into a low-income bracket. Data show that graduates of vocational high schools show better employability and higher lifetime earnings than traditional high school graduates who do not go on to college.

According to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, just over one-quarter of the students enrolled in voc-techs come from Gateway Cities, but they are home to more than half of those on waitlists.

'High school vocational programs are popular but often underfunded, according to a recent report from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Last year in that state alone, there were 3,200 students on Career/Vocational Technical Education high school wait-lists. The center said it would cost at least $27 million to fill the gap in Massachusetts high schools. The report cites a study conducted in the 1990s by the MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research organization, which noted immediate and long-term benefits for students in CVTE programs. The most effective programs today, according to the report, emphasize individual instruction and employer partnerships, as well as offer industry-standard equipment and facilities, and place vocational training alongside the regular curriculum.'

Noah Berger, executive director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, however, said the current flat tax system favors the wealthy.
'The way our tax system works now, the highest 1 percent pays a smaller share of income on state and local taxes than everyone else,' he said. 'I think this proposal helps to address that so our highest income earners begin to start paying closer to the same share of taxes as people with lower incomes pay.'
While Massachusetts has a flat income tax rate, property taxes, gas taxes and sales taxes combine to take up a higher percentage of low- and middle-income residents' wages, Berger said.

According to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, just over one-quarter of the students enrolled in voc-techs come from Gateway Cities, but they are home to more than half of those on waitlists.

Noah Berger, executive director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, however, said the current flat tax system favors the wealthy. 'The way our tax system works now, the highest 1 percent pays a smaller share of income on state and local taxes than everyone else,' he said. 'I think this proposal helps to address that so our highest income earners begin to start paying closer to the same share of taxes as people with lower incomes pay.' While Massachusetts has a flat income tax rate, property taxes, gas taxes and sales taxes combine to take up a higher percentage of low- and middle-income residents' wages, Berger said.

'The centerpiece of this budget is a smart, common-sense proposal to address the problem of costs for employee health care being shifted from employers onto state government,' said Noah Berger, executive director of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. 'Fixing that problem should create a more sustainably balanced budget and reduce the pressure for budget cuts that could harm people and communities across the Commonwealth. On other issues, it is more of a status quo budget: it doesn't make significant new investments to expand access to early education, or make higher education more affordable, or fix our transportation systems.'

"The centerpiece of this budget is a smart, common-sense proposal to address the problem of costs for employee health care being shifted from employers onto state government, Noah Berger, executive director of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said. Fixing that problem should create a more sustainably balanced budget and reduce the pressure for budget cuts that could harm people and communities across the commonwealth. On other issues, it is more of a status quo budget; it doesn't make significant new investments to expand access to early education, or make higher education more affordable, or fix our transportation systems.

According to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, Baker’s proposal raises Chapter 70 aid only by about 2 percent, roughly enough to match inflation rates, not rising costs. The percent increase is smaller than that given in the past few years’ budgets, MassBudget states.

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, told New Boston Post after Tuesday’s briefing that the threat of automation should not influence whether or not Massachusetts should adopt a higher minimum wage scale. 'Increased automation allows workers to become more productive,' Berger said. 'It can allow for higher wages because it increases productivity.'

Revenues are not keeping up with costs. We are not over-spending, and we have not had any spending increases. As the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center points out, general expenditures are consistently at 12 cents for every dollar the state collects. And that’s where they have been since the late 1980s.

"The centerpiece of this budget really is a smart and common-sense approach to address the problem of costs being shifted from private sector employers for their employees onto state government," Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center President Noah Berger said. "I think that that's been a significant issue for the MassHealth budget and the governor's proposal to put an assessment on employers who are not providing coverage for their employees is a smart idea that takes on a really big challenge."

“The fact that the governor has weighed in to try to support maintaining the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act is a good thing,” said Noah Berger, president of left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “There are limits to what the state can do if the federal government were to repeal the Affordable Care Act or to [issue] block grants for Medicaid. Those would be really, serious blows to the state budget.”

Noah Berger, president of the liberal-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, called Baker's approach to the employer assessment "a really smart, commonsense approach to try to address the cost shift from private employers onto the state Medicaid program."

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said Wednesday that an ACA repeal or a federal change to turn Medicaid into a block grant program "would be really serious blows to the state budget."

According to a study by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a Boston-based think tank, the Bay State will spend more than $1 billion this year on business tax breaks - nearly triple what it spent two decades ago after the numbers are adjusted for inflation.

The specific reforms Warren is pushing for are two proposals laid out in a recent policy brief by a liberal-leaning think tank, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. The first is the public release of a maintenance budget, which shows how much money would be needed to maintain current service levels. Nineteen states publish maintenance budgets. The second is the public release of an estimate of baseline tax growth -- the amount of revenue expected as a result of economic growth or decline -- and how revenues will be affected by any anticipated tax policy changes.

The mayor also endorsed two recommendations made by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center calling for a publicly-released maintenance budget to detail both the projected costs of maintaining current services from one budget year to the next, and a baseline tax revenue growth estimate that accounts for the effect of tax policies that have been enacted but have not yet taken effect.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said in a report this month that the Baker administration and the Legislature face a $615 million gap in the fiscal 2018 budget, citing the use of non-recurring revenues in this year's budget, likely revenue increases, and projected spending increases of $835 million, including $339 million in new health care costs.

"Revenues are not keeping up with costs. We are not over-spending, and we have not had any spending increases. As the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center points out, general expenditures are consistently at 12 cents for every dollar the state collects. And that’s where they have been since the late 1980s."

“Boston has come up with a new idea,” said Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “And there will likely be a lively debate about whether this revenue source is properly allocated to the city or the state.”

In a preview this week of the Fiscal 2018 state budget, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center points out a key shortcoming in the budget process. That process is not transparent, the nonpartisan think tank argues, because it doesn’t provide a needed context for the proposals and decisions that the governor and Legislature make.

In a report released Monday, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said the Baker administration and the Legislature face a $615 million gap in the fiscal 2018 budget, citing the use of non-recurring revenues in this year’s budget, likely revenue increases, and projected spending increases of $835 million, including $339 million in new health care costs.

the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said the Baker administration and the Legislature face a $615 million gap in the fiscal 2018 budget, citing the use of non-recurring revenues in this year's budget, likely revenue increases, and projected spending increases of $835 million, including $339 million in new health care costs.

Massachusetts could face a $615.7 million budget deficit at the start of fiscal 2018, caused in part by the use of a one-time tax credit cap and other temporary revenue sources to balance the budget in the past, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. ...The report also called for a more transparent budgetary process, including the public disclosure of both a maintenance budget -- the projected costs of maintaining the state’s current services -- and a baseline tax revenue growth estimate.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center estimates the state’s funding gap for the coming fiscal year will be $615.7 million and recommends two policy changes to introduce greater transparency into the budget-writing process.

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center in an August brief notes the Jan. 1 increase provides more economic security to many, but the full-time minimum-wage worker "will still make only $22,880 annually." Those earnings fail to support families and workers in a state with such a high cost of living, the report argues.

According to a 2014 Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center report, approximately 20 percent of wage earners statewide will experience a pay boost this January. That figure includes nearly 500,000 minimum wage workers, as well as another group of 132,700 workers currently earning slightly above minimum wage. MassBudget expects employers will increase the latter group’s pay in response to the rising minimum.

In some cities, including Lowell, Springfield, Worcester, and New Bedford, at least a quarter of the workforce has had a salary bump, either directly from the minimum wage hike or the resulting move to higher pay for those making slightly above the base, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

According to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, increasing the minimum wage to $11 will directly affect 10,200 workers around Greenfield, Athol and Montague, and indirectly affects 2,500 more.

'The centerpiece of this budget is a smart, common-sense proposal to address the problem of costs for employee health care being shifted from employers onto state government,' said Noah Berger, executive director of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. 'Fixing that problem should create a more sustainable, balanced budget and reduce the pressure for budget cuts that could harm people and communities across the Commonwealth. On other issues, it is more of a status quo budget. It doesn't make significant new investments to expand access to early education, or make higher education more affordable, or fix our transportation systems.'

Noah Berger of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said there’s a balancing act that goes on with taxes. “There are always trade-offs between tax cuts and spending on things like education or transportation or local aid,” Berger said. “There’s no one simple answer to what the right way to weigh those is.”

A recent report from the left-leaning group MassBudget found that funding for the state’s public colleges and universities has fallen by $3,000 per student since 2001. As a share of its economy, Massachusetts spends less on higher education than all but five states, according to the report.

But students attending public colleges and universities are now doing so at the cost of greater and greater debt, according to a new report from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. State scholarship support for low-income students to attend public colleges and universities has declined, as has state support for those schools’ operations in general, MassBudget says. Meanwhile, demand for public college and universities has risen during the same period. As such, students are increasingly forced to take out hefty loans.

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center... said in a statement that officials must look beyond short-term savings from the buyout. He said that “we don’t want understaffing to lead to problems like long lines at the registry of motor vehicles or shorter hours at state parks or reduced ability to protect our public health or our environment.”

Local high school graduates are paying more for their college education, and according to a new report, that trend could spell bad news for the state's economy. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center report outlines a pattern of declining funding for public universities and colleges.

The decline in Massachusetts’ funding for public higher education since fiscal 2001, after adjusting for inflation, according to a new report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, an independent nonprofit organization. The report also found that average debt for students attending the state’s public colleges and universities during that period rose from $19,000 to $29,000, or 55 percent when adjusted for inflation.

The declining support for the University of Massachusetts system, four-year state universities and two-year community colleges comes amidst "growing importance" of public higher education to the state's long-term health, according to the report, released Tuesday by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

The report took various approaches to comparing Massachusetts’ public higher education spending to other states, finding the Bay State ranks 43rd in higher education support per $1,000 of personal income, 31st in higher education spending per capita, and 21st in per-student spending adjusted for cost of living. Without adjusting for cost of living, Massachusetts has the 12th highest per-student spending.

As a share of its economy, Massachusetts spends less on higher education than all but five states, according to a new report from MassBudget detailing the Bay State’s funding cuts to public colleges and universities this century.

"We've seen very clearly how central having an educated workforce is to having a strong, high-wage economy in the modern world," MassBudget president Noah Berger said. "That correlation is extremely strong and getting stronger."

Within our tech community, a common talking point is how we can keep young talent in Massachusetts. A recent report published by Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget), called "In 16 Charts: Higher Education Funding in Massachusetts," revealed a graduate population that's actually more committed to staying in the state compared to others: alumni of public schools.

"What we see clearly is there have been significant reductions in funding for public higher education on the order of $3,000 per student and increases in fees and tuition on the order of $4,000 per student," said Noah Berger, executive director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

"One way to look at it is the cuts to funding for higher education have translated into higher student costs because costs are being shifted onto students, and that plays a major role both in increasing costs for students and increasing debt for students," Berger told the News Service.

Since research shows public higher education graduates are more likely than graduates of private schools to remain in state after finishing college, the state education system plays an important role in shaping the economy, Berger said.

This report was buttressed last month by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center’s report, Skills For Our Future: Vocational Education in Massachusetts, recognizing that high quality vocational schools effectively prepare young people; both academically, as well as for future careers.

A report in Thursday's Sun detailed the unmet demand in this state for high-school students seeking a vocational-technical education. In this day and age, you'd be right to ask, why is this imbalance tolerated?
...As the article indicated, the lack of available space unfortunately coincides where the need is greatest -- urban school systems, especially those in Gateway Cities.

"It's unfortunate and sad that there's about 100 kids we can't provide access to.
"There needs to be innovative thinking on a lot of levels to provide access across the state," [Greater Lowell Superintendent Roger Bourgeois] added.
MassBudget reported that while a career, vocational and technical education costs about $5,000 per pupil more than a traditional high school education each year, good programs can boost college attendance and career earning power.

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said he thought the staff raises were "reasonable," and matched what he has seen in the private sector. The center's 2016 "State of Working Massachusetts" paper for general wage/income trends concluded that after decades of wage stagnation for many working people, wages rose across the income spectrum, both in Massachusetts and nationally from 2014 to 2015. "Paying people a reasonable salary is important to attract good people to do important work," Berger said

Noah Berger, president of the liberal-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, has, for years, chastised the Legislature for spending money from nonrecurring sources such as the rainy day fund. But he agreed Rosenberg’s idea is “not an unreasonable thing to do.” Berger said Massachusetts faces “a classic situation where it’s very important you set up a regulatory agency before the activity begins, but that creates a real cashflow issue. The most essential thing is being transparent so it’s clear to the public and the ratings agencies what’s happening and why.”

“The high performance of Massachusetts’ economy is due largely to our highly skilled and well-educated workforce,” said Noah Berger, president of MassBudget, which released a study on the issue last week. “Well-designed vocational education programs can provide students with high-quality academic and vocational education, including hands-on learning, to prepare those students for fulfilling lives and careers.”

MassBudget, in its report “Skills For Our Future,” estimates that it would cost tens of millions a year to handle the current unmet demand for high school vocational education. Vocational programs tend to cost more than standard high school programs. The budget group estimates each spot in a vocational school cost $13,200 last year, as compared to $8,700 in traditional high schools

Last year, the school received 400 applications for 300 slots in its incoming freshman class, Superintendent Stephen Dockray said, with 50 students eventually ending up on a waiting list.
Those students make up just a small fraction of the 3,200 students statewide currently on wait lists for admission to public vocational and technical schools, according to a new study by the Mass Budget and Policy Center.

A recent report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center found that increasing the state minimum wage to $15 by 2021 would raise the wages of roughly 947,000 workers, or 29 percent of our workforce. 91 percent of workers who would be affected are over 20 years old, 56 percent are woman, and 57 percent work full-time.

Raise Up cited an August report from the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, which found that increasing the minimum wage to $15 by 2021 would boost the wages of about 947,000 workers, or 29 percent of the state workforce.

MassBudget, in its report “Skills For Our Future,” estimates that it would cost tens of millions a year to handle the current unmet demand for high school vocational education. Vocational programs tend to cost more than standard high school programs. The budget group estimates each spot in a vocational school cost $13,200 last year, as compared to $8,700 in traditional high schools.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, in a paper titled "Skills For Our Future," reported that while a career, vocational and technical education (CVTE) costs about $5,000 per pupil more than a traditional high school education each year, good CVTE programs can boost college attendance and career earning power.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, in a paper titled “Skills For Our Future,” reported that while a career, vocational and technical education (CVTE) costs about $5,000 per pupil more than a traditional high school education each year, good CVTE programs can boost college attendance and career earning power.

"The high performance of Massachusetts' economy is due largely to our highly skilled and well-educated workforce," Noah Berger, president of MassBudget, said. "Well-designed vocational education programs can provide students with high quality academic and vocational education, including hands-on learning, to prepare those students for fulfilling lives and careers."

Massachusetts has around 5,400 students who are unable to get into vocational schools because of waiting lists or because of a lack of schools in their community, according to a report released Friday by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

Though more students have enrolled in vocational and technical programs in the last 10 years, MassBudget said the demand far outpaces the availability of programs, with a disproportionate share of the demand coming from the state's Gateway Cities.

“There’s a lot of evidence that vocational schools are effective and are a good investment,” Berger said. “This is definitely one of the things we should be thinking about, in addition to smaller class sizes, early education, and other reforms that have proven effective.”

In addition to commending Worcester Tech’s partnerships with local companies, which provide mentoring and internship opportunities to its students, the report points out the school “has also strengthened its emphasis on traditional academics in recent years, almost doubling the number of students taking advanced placement (AP) course work.” Worcester Tech is also currently the city’s only high school with a level 1 ranking on the state’s 1-to-5, MCAS-score based accountability scale.

Noah Berger, president of the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said he felt the House raises were “reasonable,” and matched what he’s seen in the private sector. “Paying people a reasonable salary is important to attract good people to do important work,” he said.

The public school system provides "tuition" funds to the charter schools for each student enrolled in a local charter school, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Thus, the funding follows the students.The tuition payments are "roughly equal to average per pupil spending in the sending district," according to the center.

As a report from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center put it, “Districts often can’t recoup the full per pupil cost of a departing student. Students going to charter schools are usually sprinkled across classrooms and schools, so even if the total number of exiting students is equal to the size of a full classroom or school, it is often impractical to close them immediately.”

Noah Berger, president of the Boston-based Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said the state budget process could be improved. "Changes midyear can be a disruptive," he said. "It's hard for people who are not inside those agencies to give clear answers" about service needs. "It's best to do longer-term planning and be clear about what your objectives are," he added.

“The reduction is cautious and conservative and given that we’re relying on temporary revenue for the budget, it’s understandable to be cautious,” said Noah Berger of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Going into next year’s budget cycle, Berger recommended the state look closer at its budgetary spending, as well as tax breaks for businesses. MassBudget recently published a report that found special business tax breaks accounted for almost $1 billion in spending this year.

Noah Berger, president of the liberal-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said Friday’s announcement is “less about what is happening in the economy right now, and more about problems in our state budget — that we have been relying on significant amounts of temporary revenue to keep our budget balanced.”​ ...Berger questioned whether instead of just looking at spending cuts, the administration should also consider cutting “special business tax breaks” that Berger said cost Massachusetts about a billion per year.​

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, an independent agency, says districts’ tuition payments make up about 90 percent of charter school funding while the remaining 10 percent is picked up by state reimbursements through Chapter 70 funds, federal grants and private donations.

Berger said in addition to the underfunded accounts, Baker and the Legislature relied on things like excess capital gains tax revenue, which was supposed to go into the state's rainy day fund, and expected reversions, money left unspent at the end of the year, to balance the budget. "A lot of things that might have otherwise been tools later in the year to address budget deficiencies were used to balance the budget at the beginning of the year," Berger said.

Berger said in addition to the underfunded accounts, Baker and the Legislature relied on things like excess capital gains tax revenue, which was supposed to go into the state's rainy day fund, and expected reversions, money left unspent at the end of the year, to balance the budget. "A lot of things that might have otherwise been tools later in the year to address budget deficiencies were used to balance the budget at the beginning of the year," Berger said.

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said he agreed with Baker's push to fund expected costs for programs such as snow and ice removal up front rather than deliberately wait until later in the year. "Each year's budget should fund the costs that you know will occur that year," he said. Berger, however, said the administration and lawmakers should look beyond simply cutting programs that have already absorbed budget reductions in recent years to tax expenditures that provide questionable value to the economy.

Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said he agreed with Baker's push to fund expected costs for programs such as snow and ice removal up front rather than deliberately wait until later in the year. "Each year's budget should fund the costs that you know will occur that year," he said. Berger, however, said the administration and lawmakers should look beyond simply cutting programs that have already absorbed budget reductions in recent years to tax expenditures that provide questionable value to the economy. "I think it has less to do with what's happening in the economy now and more to do with problems that have been in the budget for awhile, such as a reliance on one-time revenues and underfunded accounts. The governor is, I think, being pretty cautious by downgrading revenue assuptions, but against that backdrop I think the biggest issue is getting out of the process where we're making these mid-year cuts. The budget process should scrutinize the special business tax breaks like the state single sales factor for mutual fund companies and manufacturing that are worth a billion dollars a year and get no scrutiny."

Berger, however, said the administration and lawmakers should look beyond simply cutting programs that have already absorbed budget reductions in recent years to tax expenditures that provide questionable value to the economy.
"I think it has less to do with what's happening in the economy now and more to do with problems that have been in the budget for awhile, such as a reliance on one-time revenues and underfunded accounts. The governor is, I think, being pretty cautious by downgrading revenue assuptions, but against that backdrop I think the biggest issue is getting out of the process where we're making these mid-year cuts. The budget process should scrutinize the special business tax breaks like the state single sales factor for mutual fund companies and manufacturing that are worth a billion dollars a year and get no scrutiny."

Special tax breaks for businesses are costing Massachusetts nearly three times as much now as they were 20 years ago, with the amount of annual revenue lost to the incentives hitting $1 billion this fiscal year, according to a new analysis.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, an independent agency, says districts’ tuition payments make up about 90 percent of charter school funding while the remaining 10 percent is picked up by state reimbursements through Chapter 70 funds, federal grants and private donations.”

Tax policy debates are about how we pay for the things we do together for our communities, our families, and our economy. Working together through government allows us to accomplish things that are vital to us as a Commonwealth and that we can't do alone...About 15 years ago, at the height of the dot-com bubble, our state made tax policy choices that have shaped state policy ever since...The state enacted a series of cuts to the income tax that are now costing us close to $3 billion a year. We cut the tax rate on most income from 5.95 percent to 5.3 percent, costing over $1.5 billion. We cut the tax rate on dividends and interest from 12 percent to 5.3 percent, costing about $850 million. We increased the personal deduction to $4,400, costing $550 million.

WITH THE governor scheduled to file his budget proposal for the coming year on Wednesday, and the Commonwealth facing a budget gap of close to $2 billion, knowing that our government provides services as efficiently as possible will be more important than ever.

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center

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